


Juno Steel and the Stolen Thief

by Liberte_Egalite_Broadway, Mary Reed (Mary_Reed), Mary_Reed, Nat_b_please



Series: I don't know who I am (but I know who I'm not) [10]
Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Gen, Heavy Angst, Heist, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Mick Mercury is a Token Straight Character, Other, Post-Season/Series 02, Rita (Penumbra Podcast) is a Good Friend, Serious Injuries, they're going BACK! TO! MARS!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-03-09 10:44:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18915349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liberte_Egalite_Broadway/pseuds/Liberte_Egalite_Broadway, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mary_Reed/pseuds/Mary%20Reed, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mary_Reed/pseuds/Mary_Reed, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nat_b_please/pseuds/Nat_b_please
Summary: This heist was supposed to be quick. Not even a heist as much as a stop, really. Mostly to refuel the ship on the way to a larger planet, but they might as well try to nab the data while they were at it. What could go wrong?~When Dark Matters kidnaps Nureyev, Juno and the crew find themselves at the center of a complex mission that draws them back to the very planet they hoped to forget... and some of the people they left behind there.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS (hoooo boy there are a lot)  
> ~  
> Kidnapping  
> References to injury  
> Deception  
> Blood  
> Forced incarceration  
> Probably more to come

He wasn't there when it happened.

Juno isn't sure where he was when it happened, actually. Maybe in the shower. Or lying in bed. He did a lot of lying in bed after the injury on that museum con. Knives between the ribs could really put you down for the count, and although Juno might normally have patched up his aching with a few glasses of vodka and called it a day, Vespa is a much stricter caretaker of him than he was of himself. He was confined to bedrest and wasn't allowed to help on any of the heists or jobs until he recovered. That didn't mean the rest of the crew would stop altogether, of course. 

 _"Will you miss me?"_  he'd asked as Peter laced up his knee-high boots.

_"I always miss you when we're not together. I positively long for you."_

_"Jeez, when did you become such a sap?"_

_"Hmm, I'm not sure."_ Peter had shrugged his shirt on and bent down to kiss Juno's forehead.  _"Perhaps around the time I fell back in love with a certain petulant detective. Now, be sure to rest up while I'm gone."_

_"How'm I supposed to rest when I've got this goddamn headache?"_

_"Do your best. Is there anything you'd like for me to get you while I'm on Ceres? I hear their coffee is quite good."_

_"Nah, just... just come back safe. And soon."_

He wasn't there when it happened. He had an IV drip in his arm and a killer headache. While the rest of his crew technologically hacked their way into a base and then physically hacked their way out of a team of guards, Juno stayed back popping pills and listening to music that Rita swore was relaxing. These pills had to work eventually, right? While he mused over that the other five were fighting for their lives, but he didn't know it. This heist was supposed to be quick. Not even a heist as much as a stop, really. Mostly to refuel the ship on the way to a larger planet, but they might as well try to nab the data while they were at it. What could go wrong? 

It all went completely wrong.

Because no one was supposed to know that they would be there. Because Dark Matters was supposed to have vacated that base weeks ago. Because Juno had just started getting used to falling asleep in someone else's arms at night, and then to have that person snatched away... It wasn't supposed to go like this.  

He wasn't there when it happened, but he hears the whole story later. He's seated on the kitchen counter drinking a mug of coffee, when he sees the pod reattach to the ship through the port window. Before he can drag his damned IV drip stand halfway to the door, it slides open. He staggers back after seeing the people on the other side. 

Buddy's hair is pushed back, revealing her dark mechanical eye and her bloodshot human eye. She's got a cut on her cheek. Vespa beside her is bruised in about ten different places. Jet's knuckles are cracked and bloody, and Rita... even Rita seems shaken by some kind of fight. Four figures, eyes downcast, as if none of them can be the first to look at him. _Four_ figures. His heart somehow manages to speed up and stop at the same time. 

"Where's Nureyev?" he asks, dry-mouthed. 

"Who's Nureyev?" replies Buddy weakly. 

_Oh, oh no._

"Fay? Fay is..." Vespa stops midsentence. She bites down hard on her lip. 

"Where is he?"

Rita rushes forward and wraps her arms around Juno's waist. "We'll go back for him, okay, Mistah Steel? We messed up, but we'll get him back. It's gonna be okay." 

"What do you mean get him back, where is he?"

"Juno -"

" _Where is he?!_ " Juno tears away from Rita with such force that his IV stand rattles. Vespa rubs her arm with her bloody hand; Buddy wraps an arm around her shoulders as they start shaking. 

"I'm really sorry, Steel," Vespa mutters tearfully. "They - they have him."

 

 _"I'll be back before you know it,_ " Peter had said.  _"And oh, by the way, Juno..."_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Never mind."_ A kiss, a quick one.  _"We'll save it for after the heist. I love you."_

 

He wasn't there when it happened. 

He doesn't think he'll ever be able to forgive himself.  

 

~~

Peter snaps awake. 

 _(Assessment of the situation: hands tied, coat gone, knife holsters empty, clothes rumpled. They searched him while he was out)._ He blinks once, twice, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness of the room, which seems to be a metal room, and is extremely cold. His searching feet clang into contact with a drain on the floor. _(Shit, shit, interrogation room.)_ How can he get out of here? Just as his gaze falls to a camera on the opposite wall, a door is throw open, and blinding bright light floods the room. He blinks as a single figure emerges silhouetted against the brightness.  _(Female, shorter than him, somehow familiar.)_ Where is he? Where is Juno? 

The door slams shut, and he hears the figure step closer.

"So. Rex Glass," murmurs a cool, authoritative voice. He wishes that voice didn't send shivers running down his spine, wishes this whole scenario weren't horrifically reminiscent of Miasma's torture. But it does. And it is. The figure leans closer in the darkness, and her face lands in his line of vision. 

Sasha Wire. 

Hands tied, defenses gone, crew missing, head throbbing with a blow he didn't remember getting.  _(This is bad and he isn't even sure what "this" is)._  Sasha studies him intently, daring his mask to crack, as if he would actually let that happen. Nureyev manages a weak smile and sits up against the straining bonds at his wrists. 

"I'm flattered you remember me." 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew needs a plan. Meanwhile, Peter has a polite conversation.

Juno is pacing. He can walk now, and he if he doesn’t keep moving he’s sure he’ll explode. So, he crosses the tiny kitchen with a purpose he doesn’t feel. It’s something small he can be in control of.

“You’re telling me. That you were escaping. And he just. Disappeared,” Juno grits out.

 “We took down two of ‘em,” Vespa mutters. She looks as exhausted as Juno is. It doesn’t make him feel any better. “The— the third was chasing us. We lost her and got out, but Peter…” She gestures wearily with the hand that isn’t clutching Buddy’s. 

Juno turns on his heel and stops moving. “So why didn’t you, I don’t know—” He sounds bitter. Good. He is. “Go back for him? Did nobody think of that? It never crossed your mind?

Rita, who was being unusually quiet, speaks up. “Boss—” 

“There was no going back, Juno. Buddy and I were disarmed. Vespa was badly injured.” Buddy’s face twists and she squeezed Vespa’s hand tighter. “Rita was not equipped for a fight.”

“None of us were equipped for a fight,” Buddy adds.

“I don’t _care_ ,” Juno bites. He’s as surprised as everyone else. “I don’t care if you had to take down this other guard with your bare hands, you should’ve done it. You should’ve done everything in your power to—”

_“I don’t know what it is you saw in there, but… I’ll be back. I promise you, I won’t disappear. Do you hear me? Goodbye, detective. For now.”_

Juno rakes a hand through his hair. God, this was a disaster. He takes a slow, shaky breath.

“We care about him too, y’know,” Rita says into her mug of tea.

“I know that, I just—” he sighs in frustration. “Fine. Okay. What’s the plan?”

“Dark Matters is based on Mars. They’d take a hostage there. More security,” Buddy says. Something twists in Juno’s stomach. He thought he left Mars behind for good, but he keeps being dragged back. Like a planet stuck in orbit. Vespa perks up. “Great. So we go to Mars, find the base, slip through a back door, get in and out with Fay. Simple.”

“Yeah, except that Dark Matters is the biggest name in the coverup business,” Juno says. “They have 20-something bases on Mars, and those are the ones we know about.”

Rita pulls something up on her comms, “25, actually.”

“Thank you, Rita.”

“Wow, these guys are a big deal now, huh?” Vespa asks.

Buddy gives her a small smile. “Remind me to update you on criminal politics, darling.”

“Anyway,” Juno says impatiently. They really don’t have time for this. “How do we narrow those down?”

Jet motions for Rita to hand him the comms and draws a few lines. When he’s done, he puts it in the middle of the table. “These three have not been used in many years,” Jet explains.

Buddy squints at the screen. ”Some billionaire bought out this one to build a hotel.”

Rita reaches over and crosses out the one she pointed at and two others. “These burnt down.” Juno gives her a confused look. “What? I’ve been real interested in arson lately. Did you know that they can tell if a fire was started by a person just by looking at how it moved? That’s so weird because burned down things all look the same to me! Y’know, my mother always told me that—”

“So we have 19,” Juno interrupts. Rita huffs and takes a big gulp of tea. She doesn’t like getting cut off. Too bad. Juno doesn’t like his boyfriend being held captive. “Any other ideas to get that number down?”

There’s silence as everyone thinks. Juno wracks his brain for any information that could help them. He’s dealt with Dark Matters since he became a PI. There has to be something he could—

Oh, goddamnit.

He runs a hand down his face and glares at the floor.

“What’s with that look, Juno? You got something?” Buddy asks.

“Yeah. He’s a… friend. He might be able to help us.”

Hopefully, Mick managed to keep his job. Juno was counting on it.

 

~~

 

Sasha stands over Peter, tablet tucked under one arm. Her posture is relaxed but professional. It makes Peter straighten in his seat. It seems that Sasha Wire’s ability to command any room hasn’t changed.

The way she pronounces his alias, like she was presenting evidence to a court, reminded Peter of who she was expecting to talk to. Peter tries to remember all of Rex’s little mannerisms, glad to have something to distract himself with. He didn’t have to pretend that Rex Glass is calm in this situation, because he has no reason to be nervous. Peter leans into Rex’s sharp smiles and open attitude that didn’t actually reveal anything.

“Well. How long has it been? A year? Two?”

“Something like that,” Sasha responds. She observes him carefully. Peter matches her stare.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why am I…” He trails off and tries to move his arms, drawing attention to the tight rope binding them.

Sasha leans forward. “I think you know the answer to that.”

“I don’t, actually,” Peter tries. Sasha looks unconvinced. It was worth a try.

“You know as well as I do, Glass, that Dark Matters is a large…organization. It’s not uncommon for agents to completely off of the grid.” She pauses, letting the unspoken “like you did” hang in the air. “Usually, we don’t have an issue with this. However, when those agents start to go directly against our interests? That’s when problems start.”

If there’s one thing Peter is good at, it’s playing innocent until proven guilty. “I really don’t think I’ve done anything recently that—”

Sasha smiles for the first time during this meeting. It matches her crisp uniform perfectly. “You’re right. Well, partly. _Rex Glass_ hasn’t done anything to interfere with Dark Matters. In fact, he hasn’t done much of anything period. The name isn’t on so much as a dinner receipt.”  

“That’s odd,” Peter says numbly. This is less than ideal, but he’s talked his way out of much worse. No need to worry yet.

(The fact that nothing worse comes to mind is purely coincidental.)

“It is.” She starts to type on her tablet. The glow from the screen casts her light in blue light. “Anyway, we received very interesting security footage recently. Have you ever heard of the Opal Palace?”

Peter’s heart sinks. So that’s what this is about. “Of course.”

Sasha finds what she was looking for and turns the tablet so Peter can see it. It’s a grainy still of a colorless video. In the center of the frame, covered in blood and glaring at someone offscreen, is Peter.

What? Rita deleted all of the security footage, how did they—

“The main cameras were erased, but apparently it's protocol to back up an hour of footage when an alarm is trippped,” Sasha says smugly, almost reading his mind.

Peter doesn’t say anything. It takes all of his willpower to keep his expression neutral. He can’t tear his eyes from the screen.

Sasha taps the screen with her nail. “So, care to tell me why you attacked and killed our agents? Or why your reservation was under Bloom?” Peter doesn’t answer.

There’s a pause. He manages to drag his eyes up to meet hers.

“Hm.” She swipes to a still of a frantic-looking Rita. “Can you tell me anything about her?” Peter shakes his head slightly.

“What, nothing?” Sasha asks looking more amused than frustrated.

Charade dropped, Peter sighs. “I’m not telling you anything,” he says finally.

Sasha smirks. “Sure.” She turns her attention back to her tablet. “Funny thing, once you know what to look for, you have quite a paper trail.”

Peter doesn’t want to know what she means by that. It’s fine. He just needs to stay calm. “Wh-what do you mean?’ His voice barely shakes. Close enough.

Sasha ignores him. “Facial recognition software is truly incredible,” she comments. She shows him the tablet again and—

He stops breathing.

“Isn’t that right, Peter?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Nat here!  
> This chapter is just a lot of talking, but I think it turned out good.  
> Hm...I hope Peter is okay.........


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter continues to be surprised.  
> Juno makes some calls.  
> Vespa and Buddy have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, it's ya girl M here with my contribution to this lovely fic. It went...wildly astray from where we originally planned, but I hope you like it! As always for my stuff, more specific TWs are at the bottom! There's not too much this time around though.

Peter is frozen. 

He’s thinking of himself as Peter, now, which is something novel in and of itself, he notes somewhat distantly. 

Sasha Wire knows his true name. Which means that Dark Matters knows his true name. 

“I can see you considering denying it; I wouldn’t. The Angel of Brahma may be a ghost, but _you_ are not. I don’t need age regression software to match you to that ID photo.” She’s right, and the protest dies on his lips. 

“Very well, _Sasha Wire_.” She flinches almost imperceptibly at that; she hadn’t known he had her name. _Two can play at that game_ , he thinks. “You have my identity. What does the magnanimous and mysterious Dark Matters intend to do with it?” 

“Dark Matters doesn’t have your name, Nureyev. _Yet_.” He doesn’t bother concealing his shock. 

“But…how? You must know I noted those cameras as soon as I woke up in this room. You can’t seriously be attempting to fool me, agent.” He resists the urge to furrow his brow, slipping into Rex Glass’ unshakeable facade for want of a better personality. 

“I work for a clandestine agency operating on one of the most corrupt planets in the galaxy; you think I don’t know how to block a camera signal in an interrogation room?” 

“Then what are you playing at?” he spits. “It’s chilly in here and I’ve rather lost my patience.” He’s slipping and he knows it, but every second here is a second Buddy and Vespa and _Juno_ will be trying to get him back, which means every second here is a second closer to his detective getting shot or stabbed or whatever other brand of bodily harm he can manage to stumble into between their ship and this Dark Matters operation. 

Sasha turns back to the tablet in her hands. “You may claim not to know who this is, but I do.” She flips it back around and shows him the picture of a harried looking Rita at the Opal Palace. “This obstinate thorn in my side has hacked my contact information out of Dark Matters’ servers no fewer than _seven times_. And do you know why?” She pauses to let Peter answer, though the look on her face suggests she already knows he won’t. 

“Juno Steel. She’s called me because he’s missing, because he’s in danger, because he’s wrapped himself up in some _actual verifiable Martian alien conspiracy_. I haven’t forgiven you for that, by the way,” she says, pointing a finger at Peter. Her tone is changing as she continues, her voice getting louder and her speech less formal. She’s moving her hands in a way that feels familiar, though Peter can’t quite place it yet. 

“And now I find her here, in a picture with you, four months after my permanent Juno Steel alert in our systems flags him and Rita as ‘missing: presumed off-planet.’ So you want to know what I’m playing at, _thief_?” She’s leaning across the table at him now, and he’s figured out what about her mannerisms is so familiar; she’s every inch Juno Steel when he’s afraid for himself, or Rita, or even Fay on those days when he feels especially fortunate. The snarl on her face and the unfettered venom in her voice remind Peter that beneath the aloof agent exterior, Sasha Wire is every bit as rough and tumble Oldtown as her childhood best friend. 

“I want to know what the _fuck_ you’ve gotten Juno into this time.” 

 *      *      *      *

“Jay! How the heck are ya buddy?” The voice on the other end of the line nearly matches Rita’s in volume and exuberance, and Juno winces despite preemptively holding the comms unit about a foot away from his ear. 

“Mick, you don’t have to shout, dammit.” 

“Oh, sorry Jay!” he stage whispers. 

“You know what- never mind. Mick, you still got that job with the Kanagawas?”

“The one guarding Cecil’s camera equipment when he’s off-set? Sure do, Jay.” 

“Wow, I kind of thought you’d have lost that by now,” Juno mutters to himself. 

“What was that, buddy?” 

“Nothing, Mick. Hey, how do you feel about helping out an old friend by letting me…borrow a couple pieces of his equipment?”

“Oh, I don’t know Jay. I’ve been able to keep this job for longer than usual, and even with the new housing stuff here in Newtown I still need the money.” Juno can’t help a flinch at the mention of Newtown. 

“Listen, Cecil will never miss it Mick, I swear. And it’s for something really important.” He can feel Mick waffling on the other end of the line, and he tamps down a surge of irritated impatience. 

“He’s right, Mistah Mercury! His beau is in _trouble_!” Juno regrets ever thinking Mick could hold a candle to Rita in volume when she’s feeling narratively inspired. 

“Dammit, Rita, how did you get on this call? You’re not even in the same room as me.” 

“Aww, boss, you know I’ve had your comms unit bugged since just forever ago, he never takes care of himself like he should Mistah Mercury, you know one week he ordered takeout from that awful Plutonian place, you know the one, with the fried flubberworm tacos that won worst dish in Hyperion last year, and the cute hostess my _gosh_ her hair about killed me the first time I walked in, I tell ya Mistah Mercury, anyway, he ordered takeout _twelve times_ without ever leaving the office even to take a shower and-hey! Mistah Steel you give that back-“ Rita’s breathless stream of commentary is cut short following a brief scuffle, Juno rising victorious with Rita’s bedazzled pink comms set in hand. 

“You can have it back when I’m done with my calls, Rita. And then you’re gonna teach me how to un-bug my comms or whatever the hell you’d call it.” 

“Suuuuure boss, I’ll get right on that. _Wink_.” 

“Did you just _say_ wink?”

“Well how else was Mistah Mercury gonna know that I winked, boss?” 

“Oh my God.” He sighs heavily. “Sorry about that Mick.” The sound of Rita’s cabin door closing hisses over the receiver.

“Oh it’s not a problem, Jay. That Rita, always watching out for ya. What a gal!”

“Mick that was not the takeaway from that interaction.”

“Whatever you say, Jay. Anyway, Rita says this is for a beau? Does that mean you have a new _special friend_?” Juno actually gags into the comms.

“Mick. Please don’t _ever_ say the words ‘special friend’ to me again.”

“Come on, Jay, what’s their name?”

“He goes by Fay here, but I’ve found loads of other names, like Rex Glass and-“

“What-Rita, how the hell did you get back on the call?” 

“Mistah Steel, did you think I only brought one comms set with us?” 

“Yeah, Jay, come on.”

“Oh my God, Fay’s gonna die.” Juno looks to the ceiling in exasperation. 

“Juno and Fay, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-“

“You know what Mick, I changed my mind. We will find some other way in, I’ll learn magic, it’ll be fun.” 

“Aww, Jay, I’m just teasin’ ya. Listen, if it’s for someone you care about you know I’ve got your back. Just tell me when to meet you and I’ll let you in. But you gotta promise you’ll return everything in perfect condition, ok?”

“Mick, you’ve got a deal.”

 *      *      *      *

“I can’t _fucking_ believe we lost Fay.” Buddy and Vespa are in the med bay, Buddy patching up Vespa’s three minor stab wounds with a steady hand. “I had that last agent, Bud. I fuckin' _had_ her.”

“There was nothing more we could have done, darling.” She speaks with the practiced tone of 20 years talking Vespa down from guilt and regret. “They were going to catch Rita and Fay made a choice. Besides, we’ll get him back.” Vespa growls in frustration, the closest to conceding a point she’s likely to get. 

They sit in silence for a while, broken only by the occasional hiss of pain as Buddy stitches the long, ragged laceration along her ribs. 

“Steel seems pretty fucked up about it.” Vespa’s looking out the porthole as she says it. 

“So was I, when I thought I’d lost you,” Buddy says softly. Vespa’s green hair whips around. Her eyes look wide and lost for a moment. She reaches a trembling hand, still caked in blood and powdered opal, and brushes Buddy’s hair out of her face. 

“You are-“ she chokes on whatever her next word was going to be, tears spilling down her cheeks. Her fingers brush beneath Buddy’s missing eye. 

“I’d do it all again for you, my love.” Her hands are still sterilized but she leans in and plants a gentle kiss on Vespa’s forehead. “And we’ll get Fay back. There’s nothing Juno wouldn’t do for him, you can see it in that blasted eye of his.” Vespa laughs, a little wet, a little melancholy, but her face loosens and her breathing slows. 

Buddy’s smile in return is knowing; she’s had 20 years of practice talking Vespa down from guilt and regret, after all. 

*      *      *      * 

“Hey, Cass.” Juno waits to make his second call of the day until Rita is safely ensconced in six different fuzzy blankets in the common room, binge-watching some trashy stream with Jet and oblivious to the goings-on of the rest of the ship.

“Juno?” The connection is a bit staticky, but it’s definitely her. Cassandra Kanagawa sounds uncertain, which is an odd look on her, but Juno figures being an interplanetary fugitive affords you some leeway. 

“The one and only. Cass, I’m gonna get straight to the point: I need a favor, and I’m gonna need you to come back to Mars to do it.”

“Nice to hear from you too, Junebug.” 

“Look, if it’s going to put you in too much danger, you say the word and we’ll find another way, but- Cass, someone I…care about is in trouble, and I think you’re my best shot at saving him.” It’s more honest than he’s used to being, but _god_ he’s so tired. It’s hard to sleep without Nureyev these days, and that aches with the kind of loneliness he hasn’t felt since Ben. 

Cass sighs on the other end. “Juno, you saved my ass and you’ve saved my brother more times than he probably deserves. You need a favor, you got it.”

“Cass, you’re the best.”

“I know.” He can hear the smile in her voice. “You tell me where you need me and I’ll be there.”

“I’ll send you the details as soon as we iron them out.”

“Sounds good. And Juno?” 

“Yeah, Cass?”

“I’m glad you found someone. You deserve it.” 

 *      *      *      *

Peter is a big enough person to admit that this is not where he thought this interrogation was going. “I’m sorry?”

“In the last three years, you have been present for most of Juno’s near death experiences, and now he’s fucking gallivanting around the galaxy with you? I want to know what the fuck you’re planning.”

“We are not _gallivanting_ , and frankly I resent the implication that I would ever put Juno in harm’s way.”

“Well whatever you’re planning, Dark Matters is on to you now, which means Juno is going to put himself in the way whether you want him to or not. Dark Matters is not the kind of organization that gives a shit about who gets caught in the crossfire as long as the job gets done.” 

“If you put Juno in danger, Wire, the _last_ thing you see will be-”

“Can it, Nureyev.” He flinches; it’s still a jolt to hear his given ( _stolen? borrowed?_ ) name in a voice other than Juno’s. “I have no intention of hurting Juno. I’ve been watching his back a hell of a lot longer than you have.” 

“I- Well I suppose that’s true, isn’t it agent?” He tilts his head thoughtfully. “So why, exactly, did you bring me here? Aside from giving me the shovel talk, as you appear to be in the process of doing.” 

“I hardly think I need to give you the shovel talk, Nureyev. You know what I’m capable of, and you know what I know.”

“So why go to all of this trouble, Agent?” 

“Between your _escapades_ and his own penchant for flipping any organization with more than eight members the bird at every possible opportunity, Juno has made something of an enemy of Dark Matters. And despite his…Juno-ness, I feel obligated to protect him. And protecting him means purging him from the system.” The veneer of professionalism has slipped back on, and Peter understands that they’re now down to business. His whole posture subtly loosens; interpersonal relationships based on things like history and honesty are not something he is familiar with or particularly skilled at, but missions? Objectives, logistics, subterfuge? _That_ he can do. A sharp grin spreads across his face. 

“Well then tell me, Agent W, what do you need me to do?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for forced incarceration, knife wounds, medical setting (Vespa being patched up by Buddy), mentions of canon-typical atrocious self care habits
> 
> Rita is love, Rita is life. Also let's be real, did I write it if no one gets angsty?


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan goes wrong and a begrudging partnership goes poorly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Liberte here. It feels good to be back to fanfiction again. I call this chapter: "The Hunger Games: Hyperion City." 
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS:  
> Sexual reference  
> References to violence  
> Abuse of authority

Mars is too familiar. 

Juno sits slumped against the window of the Ruby7, watching as the red dustball becomes bigger, then becomes the horizon, then becomes the ground beneath the treads of the car. 

“Everyone’s clear on the plan?” offers Buddy from beside him, to nods of assent. She’s crammed against him, Vespa on his other side. Neither Juno or Vespa is really healthy enough to be on this mission, thanks to both of their recent injuries, but they refused to stay behind. They’ll do everything they could to get Nureyev back. They have to. 

“We are entering Hyperion City,” comments Jet from the driver’s seat of the car. It’s weird to see him driving the car; weird to see all of them in the car like this. Juno knows the car belonged to Jet once, but he always thinks of it as Peter’s car. This was the car the two of them robbed the Utgard Express with; the one they’ve used in almost all of their heists since. Juno can’t count how many times he’s fished bandages out of the glove compartment, or all the meals he’s scarfed down riding shotgun between cons. They made love in the backseat once, parked on a deserted planet under a canopy of stars.

“Bout ready to make the call?” asks Rita. They’re winding through the familiar streets now. Juno feels faintly sick. 

“Yeah,” he says, and he picks up his comms. “Yeah, let’s go.” 

The comms beeps twice before the other side picks up. “Hello?”

“Hey, Cass. You just about ready?”

“Hey, Juno.” Cass sounds happy to be talking to him, which is honestly a welcome change of pace. “I’ve found the security guard you mentioned, but I can’t say I’d recommend him. He seems pretty new…” 

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll be there in ten minutes. Delete this call from your system.”  

He hangs up. 

 

~~

“The equipment should be back here.” Cass waves the group forward with the hand not clutching Mick’s spare flashlight. “Come on, this way!” 

“Hey, are you really sure we should be doin’ this?” Mick glances from side to side, eyes flitting nervously like he expects one of the shadows to snap to life and grab him. “I’m not sure your brother would like us being back here, Ms. Kanagawa…” 

“Mick.” Juno shoves past him. “Just shut up, okay? If you’re coming, great, if not… I dunno, stand guard in the hallway or something. I’m not changing my mind.”

“We do quite appreciate this, darling,” says Buddy placidly as she follows Juno into the dark room. “Well?” 

“Nope, I think we’re in the wrong place.” Juno frowns as he sweeps a glance. “Cass? Is all of this… recording equipment?”

“Yeah, this is a high-clearance room. Doubles as an office, so Cecil’s keys to the Dark Matters bases should be in here somewhere. Check the filing cabinet - judging from what you told me, I’m pretty sure you want Base 15.”

“Wait - key to Dark Matters?!” Mick nearly drops his flashlight; when he recovers it, his knuckles clutch it tight. “Jay, I thought you were after a couple of pieces of camera equipment!” 

“Oh yeah, we are!” says Rita as she undoes the cyberlock on Cecil’s filing cabinet. “‘Cept, we’re just usin’ that as a, oh what’s the word - oh, oh! An  _ alibi. _ We’re really tryna get into Dark Matters, and then -”

“Rita, I think you’ve said enough.” Juno wrenches the drawer open and begins to comb the files. “I’ve got nothing. Vespa?” 

“Same here,” replies the green-haired woman as she searches the nearby desk. 

“Jay, listen.” Mick shuffles nervously from foot to foot. “You know I love you a lot, right? And I want you to be happy with whoever this guy is? But this is kind of putting my job at risk, and -” 

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Juno continues rifling. “Cass, are you sure it’s in here?” 

“Shh,” says Jet abruptly, cutting Juno off. “Everyone listen.” 

They all stop talking. Juno listens and as he picks up on what Jet has heard, he feels his heart sink. His eyes dart around for somewhere to hide, but it’s too late - the door has slid open, and into the room walks Cecil Kanagawa with his eyes pointed towards his comms. 

It’s almost theatric, the moment where he sees them. He stops dead in the center of the room and looks up; he takes a step back. “Cass?” he stammers. “And…  _ Junebug? _ ” He looks around at the group, glittery eyes wide in shock. He looks exactly the same as Juno remembers, although his hair is a new color and his jewel-encrusted blazer is in amethyst, not opal. He stares at Cass, tears forming in his eyes - but whether they’re from emotion, anger, or the probably toxic makeup lining those eyes, Juno can’t tell. “What are you  _ doing  _ here?” 

“Cecil.” Cass swallows nervously. “I can explain -” 

“Ha!” Cecil barks, cutting her off. “Ahahaha, a _ ha _ ! Oh, I  _ hope  _ you can explain.” He slams the comms set off and jabs a finger at Cass. “Explain to me how my  _ sister _ , my best friend, gets carted off to Hoosegow and then  _ escapes _ ? Without bothering to  _ tell me _ ? You didn’t think I would want to know you were okay?!”

“Cecil -”

“And  _ you, _ Junebug!  _ Why - _ “ Cecil laughs again, pressing his metallic hand to his chest. “A little birdie told me  _ you  _ vanished - poof! - into the desert! Months ago! And all of these others - who  _ are _ you people?” 

“We’re -” starts Buddy. Juno cuts her off before she can conjure a story. 

“These are my friends, Cecil,” he says, already knowing he’ll regret what he has to say next. “Mick’s a security guard for you.” Cecil’s eyes flicker absently over Mick’s face without any recognition. The others look confused, but Juno ignores that and steps closer to Cecil. “I asked him and Cass to get us in here,” he says. “So I could talk to you.” 

Cecil lifts one shimmering eyebrow. “Oh? And why’s that, Junebug?” 

“Because…”Juno grits his teeth. “Because we want to be on your show.” 

 

~~

Dark Matters, Peter decides, is much bigger than anyone on his team has realized. 

Sasha Wire has brought him to a smaller room, away from the interrogation chamber he was in before. He realized quickly that this was her office, but didn’t have any time to get comfortable before she tied him up again. Now, she thrusts a cloth hood in his direction. “Here’s the plan,” she says. “I’ve got to get you downstairs to the databases so you can get into the systems, and from there it’s up to you. But no one can know who you are, so until we get there, you’re listening to me. Understood?.” 

“Yes. One question.”

“Shoot.”

“Won’t Dark Matters take note that you captured me?”

“That’s… off the record.” She runs a hand through her hair.  “I’d like to keep it that way, okay? Now you put this on - and these,” she adds, clinking a pair of handcuffs onto the table between them - “and we’ll be on our way.” 

“Is the hood necessary?” 

“Oh, I think so. It’s not worth the security risk of your face being recognized.”

“I am quite good at what I do; there shouldn’t be much video footage of my face anywhere in the galaxy. Really, I’m amazed that you found as much as you did.”

Sasha huffs. She tosses the hood down and leans forward, her palms spread out on the table, eyes locked with his. “Do you know what you are, Nureyev?”

“Call me Rex, it will be more comfortable for -”

“You’re a criminal,” she interrupts. “You’re a criminal, and if I chose, I could throw you in jail for the rest of your life. Even execute you. I’d have plenty of crimes to choose from.” She shrugs, flicking her eyes towards his file. “Petit larceny. Grand theft auto. Manslaughter. Arson. Identity fraud. Murder in the third, second, and likely first degree. And I imagine at least a thousand charges of theft -

“Closer to three thousand, but I get the idea.”

“Most of these are speculations, based on the limited data I found,” Sasha continues. “But with that many charges and with my high authority, I could make it work. I could lock you up and throw away the key. The only reason I haven’t done anything is because I don’t want to. I want us to work together like I proposed. Not for your sake, mind you - for Juno’s. Is that clear?” She nudges the hood towards him. 

Peter gazes steadily at the fold of fabric lying on the table, next to the file. “You haven’t freed my hands yet,” he says coolly. 

Sasha frowns, but she takes out a knife, which he instantly recognizes as one of his. Did she forget to turn it in to evidence - or perhaps, did she fail to do so in hopes of keeping his presence a secret? Is she taunting him? She slices the ropes and he rubs the tension out of his wrists, only for Agent Wire to clamp the handcuffs onto them a moment later. 

“Hood,” she says. He picks up the hood with his chained hands and slips it on. In this dark space he can’t see anything, and his hearing is diminished. It’s already too warm under here. Sasha grabs his elbow with one hand and jabs him in the back with her gun. “Excellent. Now, walk.”

  
  


~~

“Gosh, can you believe this? Me, Rita, goin’ on a real Kanagawa Production™! This is amazin’! Aw, if only Frannie could see me now - but oh, maybe she will! Maybe a LOTTA people will see me! Mistah Steel,  _ I’m gonna be on TV! _ ” 

“I know, Rita,” Juno grumbles. 

“I seriously hope you have a plan, Juno. The footage -” 

“I know, Vespa.”

“A least we know that we will have access to the Dark Matters base. That is what we wanted, after all. It is our only chance to rescue Fay.” 

“I know, Jet.” 

“Perk up, everyone!” Cecil chirps from where he stands behind his army of makeup artists. “By the time I’m done with you, you’re going to look absolutely  _ stellar _ !” 

Juno, Jet, Vespa, Buddy, and Rita sit in a row of chairs under bright lights, makeup brushes, and watchful eyes. Cass and Mick have been sent away. Cecil clutches a hand to his chest and sighs deeply. “We are witnessing stardom in action, gentlemen,” he coos to the makeup team. “Isn’t it  _ exciting _ ? I told Junebug I’d have him on billboards if it was the last thing I ever did, and now here we are - and he brought  _ so _ many attractive people with him!” 

“I hate you so much right now,” Buddy whispers to Juno. 

“It’s thrilling! Honestly, I’m only annoyed you didn’t bring your friend from last time,” Cecil continues. The words make Juno’s blood boil. “You know the one I mean, don’t you? With the pointy teeth and the  _ dreamy  _ eyes and the,” Cecil giggles, “skinny ass, and the nice voice? What was his name?”

“Actually, Mistah Kanagawa -”

“We almost done?” Juno snaps before Rita can blow their entire cover. Cecil’s description of Nureyev has rattled him. “Cause I’ve gotta tell you, Cecil, I didn’t come here to be the tester for whatever the hell your goon is smearing on my face.”

“Liquid highlighter, Junebug. Just hold still a moment longer. You’re  _ exquisite.  _ Therrre, just about done.” He purrs as the makeup team steps back and then he moves in towards them, brandishing mirrors in his outstretched hands. “Oh, you’re all so  _ deadly.  _ Here, have a look.” 

Juno won’t admit it, but that black-lipstick-red-eyeliner combo does make him look pretty deadly. “Can we get going-” 

“Gooooood evening Hyperion City!” Cecil chirps, and Juno sighs as he realizes the cameras are already rolling. “Isn’t it just  _ amazing  _ what a good makeup team can do? No, really, isn’t it?” He pauses for a laughter break from an audience that isn’t there. “Our team of five  _ intrepid  _ heroes are here after their makeover, about to break into Dark Matters! Faithful fans will know that Kanagawa Industries has several  _ special  _ connections with Dark Matters. Making this an ideal film location! Aren’t you so excited?”

As Cecil speaks, several of his guards round the group. “This way,” one grumbles. She’s leading them towards a hidden door in the wall, behind the equipment. It tapers into a dark hallway with dim lighting. 

“Where are we going?” asks Jet. 

“Just follow me, please.” 

“This isn’t being broadcast live, is it?” Vespa whispers to Juno under her breath as they shuffle down the narrow hallway. 

“Cecil almost never airs his shit live. Doesn’t save any time for post production.” Juno grimaces. “That’s where the real fun happens.” 

“I assume you have a plan?” hisses Buddy. 

“What the hell kind of question is that? Of course I have a plan!” 

“I got one!” Rita whispers, slightly louder than the others. “We’re gonna  _ pretend  _ like we wanna be on Mistah Kanagawa’s show, right? Then, then! While his cameras are distracted, we take ‘em out! Ka-blam! And we break away while we’re in the Dark Matters base, an’ we go grab Mistah Arrow! Then, I’ll just do my Rita magic and hack into Mistah Kanagawa’s systems to delete all his footage before he can air it! Real simple.” 

“...yeah, that was my plan too.” 

They’ve come to the end of the hallway, to some kind of truck. The radio system seems to be hooked up to Cecil’s microphone, because everything he says filters into the air in staccatto bursts of static. “In,” says the guard, and they all get in.

“...currently en route to the Dark Matters facility!” says Cecil’s disembodied voice. “But just you  _ wait  _ until you see what I have planned for them there, hmm? Quick history lesson: Dark Matters currently has nineteen operational bases. A close...  _ friend _ , convinced me to send this team to Base 15 - which, another quick history lesson, has been featured on no less than seven Kanagawa shows!” 

Juno tries to process what he knows. Cass has convinced Cecil to send Juno to this base, so it’s possible that she’s guessed Nureyev will be there for one reason or another. But then, there’s no way she can be sure, is there? There’s no way any of them can be sure of anything. He and his team are walking into a dangerous situation with little to no previous planning, at the mercy of a sadistic television executive. The old Juno Steel would have backed out a long time ago. 

But the old Juno Steel is gone. The truck is pulling away, and he finds that he is not afraid. He’s going to get his man back if it’s the last thing he ever does. And right now, it looks like it probably will be.

“Isn’t this so  _ exciting _ , Hyperion City?” sighs Cecil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys have NO IDEA how long Ive been wanting to write Cecil Kanagawa that boy is wonderful. 
> 
> i have no idea what Nat and M are gonna do next and frankly I'm pumped to find out
> 
> Follow me on tumblr: this-is-a-podcast-fanblog.tumblr.com


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